Tuesday, February 5, 2008

Hello Co-Workers,I thought I would share some useful info from the workshop I went to at Metro West called "The Healthy Librarian: Cultivating Workplace Wellness" It was very informative. We discussed a few things you can do in your own library to promote wellness including:• Celebrate success!• HUMOR!!!• Hold your own "Biggest Loser" program• Start a Health Kick• Healthy Snack options at work• 15 min./day walk or meditation• Cultivate Friendships

Below is the information and useful links I recieved on everything you could possibly imagine on the following topics: Nutrition,Ergonomics, Stress Management, Exercise and Fitness and Beyond the Workplace: when you have time, the links can be a great resource.

Enjoy!Doreen :)

NutritionOne of the very nicest things about life is the way we must regularly stop whatever it is we are doing and devote our attention to eating. ~Luciano Pavarotti and William Wright, Pavarotti, My Own Story

One of my favorite parts of spring weather is the availability of fresh fruits and vegetables. On the drive home from work I pass at least three fruit and vegetable stands, and close by my house is a seasonal market that sells vegetables from the working family farm the market is on. It’s a little easier to eat healthy when there is a plethora of tasty choices surrounding us.

* Drinking Water http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/drinkingwater.html o Have you wondered how much you really should be drinking every day? * Nutrition http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/nutrition.html o See the “Steps to A Healthier You” link to learn more about the Food Pyramid. o I also like the link to “Nutrition: Steps for Improving Your Health”. We can never hear often enough what are the behavior changes we need to make to ensure we are eating healthy. o The Calorie Counter will help you to determine how many calories you should be eating.

All of this can be hard enough to do when you are at home, but how do you maintain nutritiously balanced eating habits at work, or even harder, on the road at conferences and training sessions?

* Read this article from iVillage : “Restaurant Roulette: Rolling the Dice on ‘Diet’ Menus” and learn which chain restaurants really do offer healthy eating choices http://diet.ivillage.com/plans/0,,na_79f76gn9,00.html?ice=iv|df|dineout * From AARP (I know we aren’t all card holding members, but the article is right on target) “Eating Right When Eating on the Run” gives ideas for work and on the road when you think you don’t have time to eat right. http://www.aarp.org/health/staying_healthy/eating/a2003-03-07-eatingrun.html This article also includes some interesting book titles. * Spark People is a free online diet plan and health living community http://sparkpeople.com/ You have to register for this site, but there’s a vast amount of nutrition and exercise information. Under the Health and Wellness section, see the article on “How to Avoid On-the-Job Weight Gain”.

Fun(?) Facts about eatingPortion Distortion: See how portions have changed over the past 20 years. Download the slide sets for an interactive quiz that not only tells you how many more calories you are getting, but how much exercise you have to do to burn off those extra calories http://hp2010.nhlbihin.net/portion/index.htm

The University of Texas at Austin Library created this wonderful resource especially for Libraries: Library Ergonomics http://www.lib.utexas.edu/ergonomics/The graphics are great, and the links on the left give a nice overview to what are “ergonomically correct behaviors and postures.”

Quick tip : Take a mini-break! Prevent eye fatigue. Follow the 20/20/20 rule. Take a mini-break every 20 minutes for 20 seconds and look at least 20 feet away. This gives your eyes some much needed rest.

Stress ManagementBeing on the road, dealing with members’ concerns, multitasking, presenting (which is most people’s greatest fear)…. These are just a few challenges of a job at the NN/LM. As with any job, developing resilience for coping with daily challenges is essential to not just surviving, but thriving. Here are some resources to develop your emotional resiliency.

Exercise and FitnesstLearning how to incorporate fitness into our daily routines can greatly enhance the quality of our lives and our overall health. The current government standards recommend 30 minutes a day for exercise. This may be a challenge, but is well worth it. Benefits include a healthy heart, healthy breathing, stronger bones and muscles, weight loss, a decreased risk for diabetes and cancer and a better night’s sleep. If there was a pill that could do all this, we would all be taking it.

Summing it up:“Exercise and application produce order in our affairs, health of body, cheerfulness of mind, and these make us precious to our friends.” -Thomas Jefferson, from a letter to his daughter / Source: Bartleby.com

My favorite time of the year is certainly summer. It brings to mind days spent on the beach, hanging out with friends, listening to the James Taylor or the Beach Boys. But as we head into summer, we should be thinking about staying healthy outdoors whether we are doing yard work, playing tennis or golf, or of course my favorite, laying on a warm towel on the sandy beach, listening to great music and enjoying the rays of the summer sun.

NLM’s Household Products Database http://hpd.nlm.nih.gov/ Don’t forget to check the storage information and health hazards of the materials you are using out in the yard, or for those home maintenance chores you have been putting off for better weather.

Emergency Physicians Summer Travel Tips http://tinyurl.com/ywomzr Learn what should be in your traveler’s first aid kit, how to prepare before going on the road, and once on the road, how to be a safe driver. See other Seasonal Safety and Wellness tips from the Emergency Physicians at http://tinyurl.com/2g7qpg

Family Health!Are you getting together with family this summer? Take time to fill out your family’s health history at the U.S. Surgeon General’s “My Family Health Portrait” web site https://familyhistory.hhs.gov/

Have fun this summer. Remember, it “won’t be long til summer time is through”* so stay healthy and enjoy the season while it lasts! (*Beach Boys “All Summer Long”)

This program was created as a model workplace wellness program for librarians.Inspired by ALA's Workplace wellness series which libraries can adapt for their own uses.Authors:Siobhan Champ-Blackwell | siobhan@creighton.eduMichelle Eberle | michelle.eberle@umassmed.edu